I (Think) I Might be in Love With You (Maybe)
by OTAKUbooknerd-OBN
Summary: Blood has brought Alice back to Wonderland. But just as they're both getting the courage to tell each other just how they (think) they feel, a new foreigner comes to Wonderland-an ACTUAL slut. And she's determined to split Blood and Alice apart. And to make matters worse, Blood's the only one who knows...and he has to make Alice believe him, when all evidence suggests otherwise.
1. Furious

**Once again, children, OC is just an antagonist. She has no romantic impact on the story whatsoever. That's for Blood and Alice. ...for the first couple of lines for tis fanfic, just bear with me. It'll get better quickly, I promise.**

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_C'mon, Alice, you can do it!_

Three words, just three little words that could (possibly) turn someone's whole world upside down.

Or maybe even two someone's.

But only if this worked.

Swallowing hard, Alice bit her bottom lip and approached the doors to the balcony, pulling on the golden handle of the door. She paused for a moment to go over her plan before walking through the threshold.

_Just three words she had to say, three simple words..._

But than, as she walked out onto the balcony, her entire plan went completely awry. For one thing, _he_ was standing there, looking calm and collected as he always did, his top hat tilted slightly to one side and his chin rested on the palm of his hand. He was standing by the edge of the balcony, looking at the sunset in a way that was close to cynical, bored even. She felt her breath catch in her throat when he looked at her, his icy blue eyes boring deeply into her own in a way that made it ridiculously hard to breath.

"Well if it isn't the young miss." Blood's voice sounded colder than usual, an icy storm that made the hairs on the back of Alice's neck stand on end.

_Ignore it. It's just your nerves... Now come on, you've _got_ to tell him._

"Blood... listen. And please take me seriously, alright?" She bit her bottom lip and took a couple of steps toward him, unsure.

He raised one eyebrow, smirking. "Don't I always? Even though you _are_ a lying seductress, I really do pay attention the utmost attention to everything you say."

"This is isn't a joke, Blood!" Her hands balled up into fists.

"Of course not." He cocked his head to one side, his smirk disappearing as if suddenly realizing that she was being serious, "Does the young miss have something to tell me?"

"Yes, actually. I..." Alice hesitated, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows.

_Hurry it up! You can't just wait for someone else to do it for you!_

"You..?" Blood prompted.

"The truth is, I really like...I-I _love_ you!" She managed to squeak out, refusing to look Blood in the eye. Finally, after a long pause of silence she risked a peek through her eye lashes at the Mafioso, who hadn't changed position since her confession. Eventually, when she couldn't stand the silence anymore she managed a soft, "Well...?"

"Well what? Why should your confession make a difference to me? I'm not interested in stupid little sluts who think that they can have their way with any man that so much as looks at them." He sneered.

Alice felt tears welling in her eyes and clutched the balcony behind her for support. That wasn't what she believed, was it? She just hadn't been expecting such a horribly cold rejection from him.

And suddenly Blood had turned into her ex, and she was back at her house, watching as he and Lorina kissed.

"Sorry, Alice... But you're really just not that pretty! I mean, I _like_ you and all, but your sister... I mean, _god_, she's just so _perfect_, you know?"

_Yes. I know._ Alice wanted to answer, but she couldn't. Her tongue was stuck. And now she was with Blood again, except this time he was facing her, his face merely an inch away from hers.

"Who would want you? You're ugly, you're plain, what guy in his right mind would ever even look at you?" He said disdainfully.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. She clutched at her throat and tried to scream but nothing, nothing came out, she was just going to have to stay like this, listening, always listening, to whatever someone else had to say. Because they had already listened to her. And now it was her turn.

No matter how painful the words, she had always listened to them.

As she watched, Blood began to speak again, his face an unreadable mask, "Onee-san, wake up! Oneeeeeeeee-san! Onee-san, come on, we want to play with you!"

Alice awoke in surprise, drenched in sweat, and gasping for breath. She was in her bed at the hatter's mansion, nothing had changed. She hadn't confessed to Blood. He hadn't rejected her.

_Just a dream, just another nightmare..._

She seemed to be having those a lot, lately. But why, _why_ did always have to be Blood, and why did he always have to be rejecting her? Ever since Alice had realized that she cared, in that way, about the mafia boss she had been having the sam. Nightmare, the same thing happening again and again.

_Every night..._

The twins bounced up and down on her bed, dragging her back to the present.

"We want to play, onee-san!" They pouted, "Come and play with us!"

"S-Sure..." Alice murmured, still a bit shaken, "Just let me go and get dressed first..."

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A few minutes later, Alice hurried down stairs to breakfast, dressed in her usual blue-and-white attire.

"Good morning, Alice!" Said Elliot cheerfully, munching on some carrot pastry or another.

"Good morning!" She responded, smiling back at him before setting down in the only available seat at the table. Which, she couldn't help but notice, was directly next to the last person she wanted to talk to.

"Did the young miss sleep well?" Blood asked over his cup of tea, raising his eyebrows at her.

_I swear, that man never eats or drinks anything _but_ that stuff!_

"Quite well, thank you." She responded politely, "Did you?"

"Why yes."

After a pause of awkward silence, Alice quickly piled some food on her her plate and began to eat, ignoring the slight pain in her chest.

_If you want to talk to him, just start up a conversation, idiot!_

But she couldn't. It was just so..._impossible_. Ever since he had brought her back to Wonderland things had been so different between them. Blood still flirted with and made advances on her, but it was almost like he was only doing it because he had to.

_Maybe he's just realized that you're not worth his time and effort._

Biting her bottom lip, Alice risked a peek at Blood, who appeared to be completely absorbed in drinking his tea. She bit down a frustrated sigh.

_Honestly, what happened to us?!_

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"I'm going back to my study," Blood announced, standing up from the table. "Would the young miss care to join me?"

_If I can just get her alone..._

"O-Of course!" Alice said nervously, standing up quickly to follow him. Smirking, Blood offered her his arm and they walked down the carpeted halls toward his office.

_Why does she sound so nervous? Has she already guessed what's going to happen? Am I being predictable?_

Scowling, Blood silenced his annoying, unhelpful thoughts and decided to study Alice instead. Cocking his head to one side, he scrutinized her with his eyes. From her huge teal eyes to her soft, pink lips everything about her was just so _innocent_.

That was the first thing he had ever noticed about her. Her innocence. The next thing he had noticed was the way it made him feel. It made him want to tease her. It made him want to kiss her. It made want to touch her...

Over time, he had realized that he just wanted _her_. It was such a simple solution for such a complicated problem that he really hadn't known what to do with himself. Before, he had flirted with her, had teased and made advances on her like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it had been enough.

But, for some reason, it just _wasn't_ anymore.

He had thought that just so long as she lived in his mansion, just so long as he could do with her as he pleased he would be perfectly happy. But it had taken so long for him to realize that he just couldn't anymore, because if he kept playing with her, he would only shove her farther and farther away. And besides, there was only so much you could do, so far you could _go_, with flirting and petty advances.

He wanted more.

And he was Blood Dupre, leader of mafia. He always got what he wanted.

When they reached the entrance to his study, Blood pulled open the open the door and held it open courteously for Alice. She gave him a little smile before walking inside and immediately going over near his bookshelves, as if on reflex. Calmly shutting the door behind him, Blood followed her inside. Noticing her eyeing a certain book with curious bindings, he couldn't help but smile a little.

_Her and her books..._

"Feel free to look around." He said lightly, going over to sit at his desk. Then, he picked up a pen and a sheet of paper, acting as if he was planning on getting some work done. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Alice ran her fingers gently over the binding of the book she had been looking at, reading the title and drawing her eyebrows together in confusion. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly she was looking at.

Standing up from his seat, he gently slid the chair away from the desk so that it made no sound at all before silently creeping up behind the girl, who was incredibly absorbed in examining he book in her hands. Peeking over her shoulder, Blood read the title out loud, wondering what was so special about it.

"Alice in Wonderland."

Alice looked up with a start, spinning toward him so that her back now faced the bookshelves, "Ah...y-yes...I don't recall this book being here before..." Her eyebrows scrunched together and she worried at her bottom lip.

_Damn, she's cute._

Before he even knew what he was doing, Blood had taken a step forward, leaning toward her in such a way that she had to move backwards, into the bookcase.

"Alice in Wonderland, hmm? What an interesting book title..." Catching a pice of his hair in one gloved hand, he smiled at her cooly, "I wonder if the main character in this book enjoys seducing men, too." He was almost surprised by the words that had come out of his own mouth. He hadn't meant to say that. It had just sort of...come out. Almost like a reflex.

_Oh well...too late to change my mind, now._

"For your information, I do not seduce men, and neither does the main character in this book!" Furiously, Alice glared at him, her hands balling up into fists.

"Oh dear... Is the young miss upset?" He smirked, dropping her hair and instead placing his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. She flinched, but refused to back down, pulling herself to her full height.

"Let me go, Blood."

But he wasn't finished. Cocking his head to one side, Blood continued to insult her, "It's funny," he said slowly, leaning toward her even more than before, "The way you always love to pretend that you're so innocent," His voice lowered to a whisper as he breathed right into her ear, "Even though you're the one that cheated on you ex, right? I'm sure he was just so sick of you going about, pleasuring other men-"

_Crack!_ Alice's hand connected with his cheek, her expression unreadable. Furiously, he glared at her, a red mark staining his left cheek.

_For someone so small, she sure can throw a damn good punch!_

"You don't know _anything_." She whispered, moving away from him toward the door.

He opened his mouth to say something, his carefully composed expression barely concealing the ice cole fury seething beneath his facade. But he never got the chance.

"Blood!" The door to the study slammed open. In the threshold stood Elliot, breathing hard and clutching at the door frame. "Blood!" He gasped, looking worried, "Blood, there's something you should see..."

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Nightmare looked at the woman sitting across from him cooly, "You understand what you're to do, correct?"

"Of course." She replied smoothly, a little smirk teasing the corner of her mouth, "They won't even know what hit them."

"Good..." Nightmare looked away, worrying.

"Relax~" The woman slid her feet onto the table, leaning back in her chair, "It's as good as ours."

"Right." He murmured nervously, "I'm counting on you, Anastasia."

The woman grinned and stood up, stretching her arms above her head as she peered at something on the table. It was a picture of Blood and Alice that had been taken at the market. Alice was scowling, and looking away from the mafia boss who was smirking and reaching toward her, as if to hold her hand.

"It's really a shame, though." Anastasia sighed, "They're really _such_ an _adorable_ couple..."

Sauntering toward the door, she paused for a moment to look back at Nightmare, "They won't be for long, though~!"

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**I probably shouldn't be starting another story, should I? Oh well... Oh, and for some random person who maybe can't figure out how to pronounce the word (or is just to lazy to figure out how to pronounce the word) Anastasia, it's pronounced like this: Anna-stae-ja except the ja sound has kind of a bit of the sh sound to it... So yeah.**


	2. Hurt

**This chapter is sorta boring but, meh, it's necessary.**

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"Elliot, I'm currently quite busy. I am sure that, whatever the problem is, you are quite capable of handling it yourself-" Blood began, walking toward his subordinate. He looked as put together and composed as he had before Alice had hit him, except for the fact that one of his gloved hands was curled into a fist, the only visible proof that he was furious.

"Blood." Elliot's eyes were wide, he looked surprised, confused, and a little bit amazed, "You _really_ have to come see this."

"Very well, then." The Mafioso sighed, pausing in the doorway, "And the young miss ought to accompany us, as well." He turned to address Alice, "Considering we still haven't finished our...conversation."

Alice didn't need to look at his still-fisted hands to now he was angry. His voice was full of carefully-channeled rage, the most dangerous kind. She swallowed, biting her bottom lip. She didn't regret punching him, though. He really didn't know anything at her and her ex, after all.

_I wonder what Elliot wants to show him so badly? Carrot cake?_

Frowning thoughtfully to herself, she followed them down the hall, through the mansion, before finally reaching the grounds. As they neared the gates, Alice spotted the figures of the twins, conversing with someone. Frowning, she squinted, trying to see them better. It appeared to be a woman, a bit older than Alice, with straight black hair and very short red dress.

_How can she even _walk_?!_

As they got closer, the blonde-haired girl noticed what made the woman so strange.

She had _eyes_.

And what eyes they were. As they're group got closer, Alice noticed that they were a strange shade of violet, one that she had never seen before. They seemed to glimmer in the light of the waning sun, causing them to become almost iridescent. The woman's facial features, too, were perfect. Her straight nose, prominent cheekbones and bright red mouth were brought out to the fullest with a heavy coating of makeup, including a scarlet coating of eyeshadow. Red appeared to be the woman's favorite color. As if all of this wasn't enough, the short red dress she was wearing was also low cut, showing off her perfect cleavage and curves.

_Wow. She's beautiful in _that_ way. The way _Lorina_ was beautiful. The way I'll never be beautiful. The kind of beautiful that makes guys like my ex swoon. The kind of beautiful that makes guys like _Blood_ swoon. _

"Why hello there!" The woman purred, sauntering up to Blood and looking up at him through her eyelashes, "Who might you be? The boss, perhaps?" She ignored Alice and Elliot completely.

"Of course." He smirked, looking at her cooly, "Interesting. A new foreigner. And your name is...?"

"_Anastasia_." She responded, her face quickly mirroring his, "And you?" As she said this, she tapped his chest lightly with a single blood-red nail, obviously flirting.

"Blood." He answered, catching a strand of her ebony hair, "I believe we shall get along quite well."

"I agree. _Wholeheartedly_." She winked.

Disgusted, Alice averted her eyes and tried to ignore it as the man she thought she loved, the man she had hoped might love her back, flirted with the next girl he saw. Apparently the only reason he'd ever been interested in her in the first place was because she was a foreigner. And now that there was a new one...

_Well, what did you expect? You're not Lorina, you're not beautiful, she _is_. That, and so much more. She's gorgeous. See how they match?_

It was a good thing she hadn't actually confessed to Blood. All she had been was a toy to him. Nothing. Just another girl to hit on. She swallowed back her tears, glaring at the glass and trying to stop it from becoming blurry.

_I will not cry. I will _not_ cry. I _will not cry_!_

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Yet more proof that she wasn't Lorina. After all, Lorina would _never_ have fallen for a man like him. Hell, if Lorina _had_ fallen for a man like this she would have kept him. Easily.

_Just pretend you don't care. You're strong enough not to cry. You proved that at your mother's funeral, remember?_ Alice thought bitterly.

Surreptitiously wiping her eyes, she quickly moved over to stand with the twins, half wondering if Anastasia, too, was going to be their onee-san. She laughed softly to herself, remembering the word that so many of her friends in Wonderland had used to describe her.

_Irreplaceable, huh? Not anymore. And it looks like Blood has already figured that out._

"Onee-san!" Dee raced forward and clung to her dress, "Onee-san, _help_!"

"What's wrong?" Alice asked, worriedly stroking the little boys hair in an attempt to sooth him.

"I-It's _her_!" Cried Dum, hurrying to cling to her other side, "It's that women you told us about!" He gestured 'covertly' at Anastasia, the horror clear on his face.

"Who?" Now Alice was confused; she had never met Anastasia before, let alone told about her to the twins.

"_Cruella Deville_!" They sobbed.

_...And this is what you get for telling the twins about a wholesome children's movie._

"Oh _god_..." Muttered Alice, "Look, that was just a movie I was telling you about! She's not a real person!"

"She came to life!" Dum cried in horror.

"That makes her ten times more evil!" Dee added.

_Well, at least _some_ people aren't all over the latest addition to the Wonderland._

"Why don't you like her?" She asked in confusion. It didn't seem to her like Anastasia had even had time to do something the twins wouldn't like. But they were already lost in their own conversation.

"There's something _off_ with her, brother!"

"I agree!"

Alice shook her head, choosing to ignore the twins' silly discussion.

_She's just a normal women who was tossed into Wonderland, same as me. Perhaps we can even be friends._

She glanced toward were Anastasia was standing with Blood, so close that they brushed against each other each time they so much as drew a breath. As she watched, Anastasia grabbed his hat, putting it on to her own head with a flirty smirk.

_...or perhaps not._

Scowling, Alice turned towards the mansion. She could go inside, read a book or two, pretend like her feelings for Blood didn't exist...

_Anything has got to be better than watching this!_

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Blood glanced over to were Alice was standing. She was looking at the ground, her hair concealing her eyes.

"Blood..." whined the girl in front of him, her full lips contorting into a melodramatic pout, "Who's she?"

He simply smirked, resisting the urge shoot Anastasia.

_Dammit. Why won't Alice just react already?! If would just admit that she liked me..._

He frowned to himself. Since when had that been the plan? He was simply going to make Alice jealous. She would be angry at him for flirting with the foreigner, and then he could point out that if she didn't care about him at all, she wouldn't care. Then he would kiss her. It was perfect; all of it planned out in his head. If only she would just admit that she _was_ jealous.

He studied Alice carefully, looking for any signs of the emotion. There were none. And then, to his amazement, the girl turned and started back toward the mansion. His eyes narrowed, and he had to struggle to hide his growing frustration. From the set of her shoulders, the way she refused to meet his eye... It didn't seem like jealously. It seemed...almost like she was sad. He opened his mouth to say something, maybe an insult, anything to get her to lose her composure. But before he could, Anastasia grabbed his arm and leaned in close, telling him something.

This plan had to work. If it didn't... He shook off the thought. If it didn't work, he'd just come up with another way for Alice to admit her feelings to him. And besides, this plan _was_ going to work.

Anastasia brushed a piece of silky hair out of her face, smirking at him.

...If only he could keep from killing his (unfortunately) essential game piece beforehand.

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"I figured it out, brother!" Dee exclaimed, hurrying toward Dum, "I figured out what's wrong with Cruella!"

For the last couple of hours, the twins had been standing guard at the gate, the rest of the hatter residence having already gone inside.

"What is it?" Questioned Dum, looking at his brother curiously.

"Her eyes. There's wrong with them. They're nothing like Alice onee-san's!" Dee grinned, pleased at himself for solving the mystery before his brother.

"You're right! They aren't the right color at all!" The other boy frowned for a moment, annoyed at having to admit his twin correct, "They look like...like..." His eyebrows drew together, trying to remember exactly were he'd seen those eyes before, "Like Ace's!"

Dee nodded thoughtfully, "But Ace's are the right color. They're real."

"So that would have to mean that Cruella's eyes aren't even _real_!" Dum grinned, pleased at having come up with a conclusion.

"That must mean she's even more evil than we thought! Maybe, _maybe_ even more evil than stupid newbie hare!"

They both shivered at the thought.

"It would probably be a good idea to stay away from her, brother."

"She might decide to skin us!"

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"Niiiightmaaaare!" Sang Anastasia, grinning as she flounced toward the incubus, "Staying with the hatters is even more fun than I thought it would be!"

Nightmare sighed and glared at her, "Look..." He began, but she cut him off.

"Oh, I know! We're in a dream and have a time limit...but you really just must hear this! It's just so funny!" She giggled, "That man...he thinks he's _playing_ me! He really does! I cannot wait to see the look on his face when..." She trailed off, frowning as Nightmare began to disappear, "Well that went by faster than I expected! See you later!" She sang, before walking off into the mist, throwing him a wave over her shoulder.

Nightmare stood still, glaring after her. He didn't want her involved in this, hell, he didn't even want her _here_. Especially now, with her last words still echoing in his head. She hadn't finished her sentence out loud, but she had finished it in her head.

_I cannot _wait_ to see the look on his face when he realizes that he, the player, is being played! But by then, there will be nothing he can do..._

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**Aaaaaaaaaand the plot thickens. Yeah, sorry about dumb setting-the-stage chapter but I needed to put a basis for the plot line... Feh. Oh well, the next chapter will be more interesting but I have to go to camp for two weeks now so it might have to wait until the end of that...sorry! Oh, and I was using spellcheck on this thing and it said that flounced and contorted both weren't words. 0.o weird. **


	3. Angry

**IMPORTANT VERY IMPORTANT: First of all, if you don't know anything 'bout Les Mis you don't really need to, except for the fact Cosette and Marius are in love and Eponine, who really loved Marius and worked really hard for him, is completely forgotten. In fact, he spends a good part of the book avoiding her, even after she shows him were Cosette lives and helps him, yada yada yada... So anyway, that's why Alice is so upset about that. And also...I'm really, really sorry about not updating. I mean, I realize I don't HAVE to, but I was going to but some important, time-consuming matters came up so yeah. My deepest, most sincere apologies. And I'm not even kidding. So I will, I WILL try my best to update more often but I can't make any promises cause something might happen again.  
And: Special, tremendously sincere apologies to for DragonCurse4 even going through the effort to ask me when I would update (very politely) and whom I kind of accidentally LIED to! :( Very sorry! So yeah, here it is.**

Alice glared at the book in her hand for a moment before throwing it across her bedroom at the wall in front of her.

_Why oh why..._

She picked a very, very long book. A supposedly _tedious_ book. A book that spent fifty pages describing a character that only actually appeared in the story for five. And at the beginning, it had been great. _Les Misérables_ was actually a pretty decent book, if a bit difficult.

But then it was completely ruined for her. Cosette and Marius. Marius and Cosette. And who could forget Éponine?

_Urgh...this is impossible! I might as well just not read anything at all!_

Everything, _everything_ she had tried reading had some kind of romance in it. And it was making her miserable. She didn't want any reminders right now, nor ever. If she could just forget all about Blood Dupre and the ridiculous notion that actually very possibly _fallen in love_ with such a guy...that would be fine with her.

_If only..._

She sighed softly, before dragging herself off the bed and onto the floor to retrieve her book. She had never treated books this harshly before, and she didn't particularly want to make it a habit.

"Alice?" The question was accompanied by a soft knock on her door, "Hey Alice, are you in there?"

"Elliot?" She blinked, straightening up from where crouching beside her book, before hurrying to open the door.

"Do you need something?" She asked, peering up at him curiously.

"Well...um...actually..." He blushed, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "Hey, if I'm not imposing or anything, can I...come in...?"

"Oh...Yes, of course...sorry!" Moving aside quickly, she motioned toward the inside of her room, feeling embarrassed.

_I'm acting strange, aren't I? I wonder if he's noticed...I wonder if he has a question about Blood...?_

She swallowed.

"It's fine..." He walked nervously along the length of her bed, pausing at the opposite wall, "So. I was, um, wondering..." He paused, turning around to face her, a blush covering his cheeks, "So, first, Blood would like you to come for tea this afternoon..." he glanced quickly at her, as if gauging her reaction, "And also..." he finished hurriedly, "Are you going to the, you know, Ball?"

Alice frowned. The fact that the first invitation was a statement, an _order_ even, and the second a question, had not passed her by.

_Damn that man and his stupid, rose-covered top hat!_

And as for the ball...she had completely forgotten. During the fall season, there was always some kind of celebration run by the Hatter Family, and this season's just happened to be a ball. Still, Alice was surprised that after everything that happened today...She found it hard to believe that he'd decided, out of everything he could've asked, to ask her about that. The Ball. And nothing, (well, except for Blood's order) not even a word, about Anastasia.

_It was sweet of him to ask a about the ball...but I really don't want to go. After all, Blood will be there. Surely Elliot won't mind, after all, he was just worried about me, right? And as for the teaparty..._

"Sorry, Elliot, but I don't think I can go."

He looked at her in confusion, obviously hoping for clarification.

"To either of them. I have to...I have a meeting with the twins." If Blood Dupre thought he could just order her around, that she would just sit there and _let_ him...well, he was wrong. "Thanks for being concerned about me, though." She added, and smiled, hoping that he wouldn't get upset. After all, it had been very thoughtful of him to ask her about the ball. Even if he had just asked to lessen the the blow of being ordered to do something.

"Ah...I see..." His face visibly fell, his rabbit ears drooping, "Alright then..."

_S-So...c-cute..._

"But maybe I'll change my mind, I mean, perhaps if I...I don't know...Maybe something will happen...?" She tried, hoping to cheer him up, even minimally.

Fortunately for her, it worked. He face brightened, a small bit, really, but enough to make Alice feel less guilty for saddening him.

"Okay! Well, I really do hope you change your mind..." He flashed her a small, but sincere, smile. "Bye, Alice!"

She smiled back, feeling a bit bad about tricking him.

_Sorry..._

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Alice slipped into the long hall in front of her room, eager to avoid anyone, most of all Blood. If he caught her before she met up with the twins, it was game over. He'd make her attend his stupid tea party and continue to think he could just make her do whatever he wanted.

_Which, technically, he can. After all, he _is_ a mafia boss. _Whispered a tiny voice in the back of her head.

She frowned, dodging around another corner. He could have at least _asked_ her! But no, he had ordered her instead. She hurried down a corridor, then, realizing it was the wrong one, quickly backtracked and took off down another. Eventually, she made it to a hall that was lead outside...ish. It wasn't, strictly speaking, a way that was supposed to be used to leave the mansion, but it had several large, intricately carved archways. Which were technically supposed to be windows, but since Blood generally kept the door either locked or watched very closely by guards, she figured this would be the best way to get out. Glancing around quickly for servants, she climbed to the edge of one of the archways and dropped out, flinching slightly when she hit the ground. The hall was-fortunately-located on the first floor, so she hadn't had too far to drop. Brushing herself off, she hurried to cross the grounds, sighing in relief as the gates came into view.

"Dee! Dum!" Alice called, searching the area for the young gatekeepers.

"Onee-san!" They came out of nowhere, tackling her from behind and forcing her to clutch the gates for support.

"Th-There you are!" She managed, her hands still gripping the gate.

"But..." Dee pulled on her hand, forcing her to release the gate.

"Aren't you supposed to be with boss?" Finished Dee, tugging on her other hand, causing her to turn around.

"Well...erm..." She floundered for a good excuse, "I thought it would be better if we were to...play a game!"

"A game?" Dee and Dum lit up, their eyes shinning.

"Yeah...the..um...pretend we're having an important meeting so we don't have to go Blood's tea party game!" She put on a huge fake smile, knowing full well that the twins would agree to almost anything...just so long as Alice said it was a game.

Her presumptions were correct-the two boys both sported grins that were even larger than before, if possible.

"Onee-san suggested a _fun_ game!" Cried Dee.

"Onee-san _never_ suggests a fun game!" Exclaimed Dum.

_Gee...thanks..._

Alice's smile changed to a frown as she scowled at them. How had she been supposed to know that they didn't enjoy normal games like hide-and-go-seek and tag?

"I-Is onee-san mad at us?" They whined simultaneously, staring up at her with huge, wet eyes.

She sighed softly, reaching down to grip each of their hands gently, "I'm not mad at you. So don't worry, okay? I mean, you're just little kids. It's not like you were trying to offend me or anything..."

"Neh? Just little kids?" Dum cocked his head to one side, previous sadness completely forgotten.

"Well...yeah. I mean, I'm not trying to insult you or anything..." She trailed off.

"_Just_ little kids?" Dee persisted, frowning slightly.

"I didn't mean-"

"Well, if it isn't the young miss." A cold voice cut in, "May I ask what, exactly, was so _important_ that you couldn't make it to my tea party?"

_Oh god...not _him_..._anyone_ but him..._

She glanced behind her, eyes trailing down down his top hat to his piercing blue eyes, which were glaring at her. Alice's worst fear had been confirmed, "B-Blood?" Her said in surprise. She hadn't expected him to come after her...well, not until his party had ended, anyway.

"Well?" He regarded her cooly, as always, one of his perfectly arched eyebrows raised in an expression of carefully-orchestrated disdain.

"I was...um...we were just..."

"We were teaching onee-san how to defend herself!" Piped Dum, smiling innocently at the mafia boss.

_Of course..._ Alice gave a mental sigh of relief, _We were playing that game, weren't we?_

Blood frowned, not convinced, "Why?"

"Because onee-san is little...and weak." Dee answered sweetly, squeezing her hand.

_That is _not_ how I would have put it..._

Her forced smile quickly disappeared and she turned her head to send Dee a quick glare, "No, I'm _learning_ because everyone else seems to already know how!"

"Of course," Blood gave her a humorless smile, "Then...could you give me a demonstration?" He casually transformed his cane into a machine gun, as if he were requesting that she do something as simple as walking.

"We haven't started yet." Alice snapped quickly, her heart beating out of her chest,"And besides, I'm not learning to work with guns I'm learning how to...to not get beat up." She finished lamely, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, so you were just starting?" Blood smirked, carelessly changing his gun back into his normal cane, "Don't let _me_ interrupt you, then."

_Bastard. He knows we're not actually doing a class!_ She suppressed a groan, _Fine, then! _We'll_ show _him_!_

Her hands balled into fists as she glared at him, tipping her back slightly to stare into his eyes, "Fine. Dee, Dum, ignore him. Let's just continue with our class."

"Onee-san...?" Dee tapped her shoulder lightly, easily reading the tension in the air.

"Right then, so how do you..." She trailed off as Dee and Dum suddenly changed from small, cute children into...

_Eh?!_

"Dee...? Dum...?" She frowned at the two now men in front of her, "What are you...?

"It's so we can teach onee-san better!" They chorused, smiling, "Because his way we're stronger and bigger!"

"Right." She swallowed, "So let's...start?"

Dee and Dum exchanged conspiratorial smiles.

_...Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, after all._

But it was too late to turn back now. Alice gave the twins a nervous smile as they walked toward her, forcing her back into the gate.

"So, onee-san..." Dum leaned forward, resting his hand lightly on the gate next to her head.

"If you're stuck in this position..." Dee did the same, on the other side.

"What would you do?" They finished together, leaning even closer.

"Um...Wait, aren't we doing things like...blocking punches or something?!" She said in alarm, blushing and holding her hands up attempting to send them the mental point that this was _not what she meant_.

Dee looked at her innocently, as if he didn't understand what she meant, "Neh? Of course we are!"

Dum slid his hand around her waist, causing her to jolt in surprise, "Hold your arms like this..."

Dee slid his hand down the length of her arm, bringing it to rest on her hand while shooting her a not-so-innocent smile.

"Onee-san..." Dum leaned in and pressed his mouth to her cheek, ignoring the restraining she pushed against his chest.

"Do you still think..." Dee did the same, licking her gently and causing her to squeak.

"That we're just little kids?" They finished together, drawing back.

Alice barely had time to thing, _What does this have to do with self-defense?!_ Before Dum leaned in and kissed her.

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Blood's mouth fell open.

_He's kissing her!_

He stared at them in surprise, watching with a kind of angry fascination as Alice let out a sharp cry, struggling in their grip. Dum pulled back, grinning and proceeded to kiss her neck, while Dee caught her chin and captured her lips with his.

Then, Dum did the unthinkable. He straightened up, almost casually, and then turned his gaze to directly meet Blood's. The massage was very clear: _Well? What do you think?  
_

Blood's hands balled into tightly clenched fists. He was furious. Every ounce of the carefully-managed self-control he'd once had was completely gone.

_Is _this_ really the reason she came here...? _

And what if it _was_? What if Alice was always like this with the twins, what if the only reason she was struggling was because he was here, and she didn't want to prove to him that she was a slut?

And suddenly he didn't care that he was being a jerk, didn't care that Alice was probably going to hate him afterwards, didn't think of the consequences. He simply walked toward the gate.

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Alice flinched as Dee's-or was it Dum's?-lips moved over hers with bruising force, forcing her lips to open and allowing him access to her mouth.

"Mmf!" She moved shove her hands against his chest, but he wasn't there anymore. She stood still for a moment, blinking in confusion.

_Where did he...?_

Suddenly she felt a gloved hand grab her wrist, and then she was being dragged by Blood across the grounds, away from the twins, who had-for some reason-turned back into their child forms. She assumed that it had something to do with the mafia boss yanking on her arm, but every time she had tried to catch up with him he simply walked faster. She went with him for a while, but by the time they reached his rose garden she was beginning to get tired.

"Blood...?" She questioned, attempting to peer into his face.

"Interesting. So your so-called self defense class was just an excuse to seduce more men." His voice filled her ears, but now, instead of being cold and perfect, it had a strange, almost rough quality, as it had been there before, but he was no longer trying to cover it up.

"I didn't-" She started angrily, doing her best to cross her arms over her chest despite the fact that he was still gripping one of her wrists.

"Alright, then." He cocked his head to one side before he stepped closer to her, "I'm bored. So..." He caught her chin, forcing her to tip her head back and acknowledge that there was only an inch or so of space between their faces, "Seduce me..._Alice_."

**Yeah...sorry bout the ending don't have enough time to finish it tonight... I'll try again some other time sorry!**


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